NEWS STORY: Venerable St. Mark’s Opens Its Doors to GOP Protesters

c. 2004 Religion News Service NEW YORK _ There is a lot of prayer in New York this week. Not all of it is coming from Madison Square Garden. St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, one of the oldest churches in Manhattan and widely known for its progressive stance, has thrown open its doors to thousands of […]

c. 2004 Religion News Service

NEW YORK _ There is a lot of prayer in New York this week. Not all of it is coming from Madison Square Garden.

St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, one of the oldest churches in Manhattan and widely known for its progressive stance, has thrown open its doors to thousands of protesters in town for the Republican National Convention. Political organizers, homeless activists and self-described anarchists have set up camp there, transforming the venerable grounds into a social focus point for the protest community.


“The church has a long history of the ministry of social justice,” said Father Frank Morales. The Episcopal priest sees himself as a “go-between,” smoothing the ruffled feathers of the activists and the larger community. He is spending as many as 15 hours a day on the grounds during the 10-day protest, helping the visitors navigate tense civic waters.

Everyone’s nerves were put to the test the Friday (Aug. 27) before the convention when the first New York Police Department arrests took place. At the Critical Mass bike ride, seen by many as the kickoff event for the protests of the following week, police made more than 250 arrests, scores of them in front of the gates of St. Mark’s. Many fled into the church for safety.

“The look on people’s faces when they were coming in _ clearly there was fear,” Morales remembers. “It put flesh on the bones of the idea of sanctuary.”

When Morales is not in demand, he can be seen pushing a broom after lunch, or rolling a cigarette, hunkering down with a circle of tattooed and dreadlocked activists half his age. He builds an easy rapport, talking about his work with squatters’ rights in the ’80s.

Sanctuary is a touchy subject among this crowd, though they gather here for free food, clothing and the chance to find a place to stay. It is not a churchgoing crowd. Nearly all are young, most of them sport tattoos and their clothes are well-worn, emblazoned with slogans.

St. Mark’s also serves as the unofficial rendezvous point for those who have been arrested or detained.

Nikita, who did not want her real name used, was arrested at a kiss-in near Times Square on Sunday and went to St. Mark’s to wait for her friends when she was released, dirty and hungry, 18 hours later. It was her first protest. It was also her birthday.


“I got to spend half of my birthday in jail,” she said, adding she is not religious, but appreciates the community at St. Mark’s. “It doesn’t feel like church. To me it feels like a safe place.”

There are three rules posted in felt-tip marker by the front gate: No drugs, weapons or alcohol. The rules are mostly enforced by Deacon George Diaz, a prosecutor in his secular life, a large presence on the grounds and a man with a broad and easy smile.

He says he’s not worried about the secular mind-set among the young protesters. Before he found St. Mark’s, he was a committed activist for 20 years but drifted spiritually. “Choosing a church for your spiritual home is a journey _ and for some people the journey is longer than others’,” he said.

“You find God in your own way and at your own pace,” he added. “What we offer them is a space.”

Diaz offers a brief tour of the grounds, showing where the church has set up a medical center with a volunteer doctor and nurse, and a decontamination center for those doused with mace or pepper spray.

Morales believes the church’s nurturing role is vital to a social justice ministry. “I think it’s important for a church to minister to all the people, and especially to provide a place of healing. Those who dissent run the risk of incurring pain and suffering,” he said.


Morales is respectful of the community that has built itself this week, and sees it as inherently spiritual. “A lot of people who haven’t darkened the door of a church in a while are embodying what a church should be,” he said. “Remember, protest is an act of love. It’s not about violence, it seeks to end violence. It wants to create a world of justice.”

At midnight the church community closes the grounds for the night. Henry Piper, a member of St. Mark’s and a singer in its choir, comes by to help oversee the clean-up.

“The Republicans have nice hotel rooms,” he said. “But these people are truly the `least among us.’ Some of them came here without homes and without food. This is the least we can do.”

DEA/PH END ANTHONY

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